Original Paper

Protective Effect of Sildenafil (Viagra) in Transient Spinal Cord Ischemia
Nejmi Kymaz^a, Nebi Ylmaz^a, Çidem Mumcu^a, Ömer Anlar^c, Süleyman Özen^b, Çetin Refik Kayaolu^d

Departments of
^aNeurosurgery and
^bPathology, Yuzuncu Yil University, Medical School, Van,
^cDepartment of Neurology, Ataturk Training and Research Hospital, Ankara, and
^dDepartment of Neurosurgery, Ataturk University, Medical School, Erzurum, Turkey

Address of Corresponding Author

Pediatric Neurosurgery 2008;44:22-28 (DOI: 10.1159/000110658)

  Key Words

• Sildenafil
• Somatosensory evoked potentials
• Spinal cord ischemia, transient

  Abstract

Prospective study of the neuroprotective activity of sildenafil in a rat spinal ischemia model. The present study involved 21 male Sprague-Dawley rats. The animals were divided into 3 groups. Physiological serum was administered intraperitoneally to the 8 rats in the control group at the beginning of reperfusion for a period of 20 min after abdominal aortal occlusion. Sildenafil (Viagra®) was administered as a single 10-mg/kg/day intraperitoneal dose to the 8 rats in the sildenafil group at the beginning of reperfusion after 20 min of abdominal aortal occlusion. No occlusion was performed and no agent was administered to the 5 rats in the sham group, but the abdominal aorta was reached by means of surgical intervention. Before the animals were sacrificed, several physiological and biochemical parameters were investigated, preoperative and postoperative motor functions were also assessed, and somatosensory evoked potential (SEP) monitoring and histopathological examinations were carried out. No differences were found between the physiological and biochemical parameters in each of the 3 groups. Neurological scoring performed after reperfusion demonstrated a significant improvement in the neurological results relative to those of the control group over 48 h in subjects that received sildenafil. These animals also showed better 24-hour SEP results, measured in terms of extended latency and decreased amplitude, than the control animals. A histopathological study showed reduced ischemic symptoms in rats that received sildenafil compared with those in the control group. However, no anomalies were observed in the sham group with respect to the histopathological and neurological findings. These results indicate that neurological damage due to spinal-cord ischemia-reperfusion injury can be reduced by sildenafil.

Copyright © 2008 S. Karger AG, Basel

  Author Contacts

Dr. Nejmi Kymaz
Yuzuncu Yil Üniversitesi Tip Fakultesi, Arastirma Hastanesi
Beyin Cerrahi Klinigi
TR-65300 Van (Turkey)
Tel. +90 432 2164 710/2041, Fax +90 432 2121 867, E-Mail nejmikiymaz@yahoo.co.uk

  Article Information

Received: October 19, 2006
Accepted after revision: April 11, 2007
Published online: December 14, 2007
Number of Print Pages : 7
Number of Figures : 6, Number of Tables : 2, Number of References : 34